A dummy made of tar, which cannot be struck without getting oneself hopelessly stuck to it--from the story "Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox" by Joe Harris, as told by his fictional narrator, Uncle Remus.

Tar baby has become short hand for a situation better avoided than confronted.

a situation almost impossible to get out of; a problem virtually unsolvable;

Tar baby is a synonym for nigger, except that it is only used in bigoted manners, whereas nigger can be a sign of respect, if the speaker is also African American.

It comes from a children's story in which the dark skin and seeming ignorance (caused by a lack of schooling) of slaves were explained by the idea that black children were baptised in tar, which made them dark and dumb.

see nigger

A sticky mess. Something unable to get away from.Alternate: Similar to a Catch-22. Damned if you do and damned if you dont. A mistaken notion or misunderstanding that immediately produces indignation.

Now used as an insult to black people, the tar baby was originally a jet black baby doll (becaue it was made out of tar) used to trap Br'er Rabbit Rabbit in an American folk tale.

Tar baby can also be a term used to describe a "sticky" situation.

An african american baby, most likely very black.

Someone who looks like they're half alive or too high to even function, they're sunken in and skinny.